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You Can’t Ruffle Sandra Lee

For years you have pooh-poohed the notion that you’re the next Martha Stewart. But Kmart dropped Stewart’s Everyday line in 2009, and your Sandra by Sandra Lee home line is about to be introduced at both Kmart and Sears. Do you feel as if you’ve knocked a giant from the top of the mountain? I’m the only personality that has Sears and Kmart. That’s not something that anyone in my category has been able to do. But I’m not arrogant that way. Martha’s not thrown off anywhere. Did she throw Julia Child off? Julia was Julia, Martha is Martha and I am me. Period.

People sometimes complain about Martha’s recipes being too labor-intensive. You, on the other hand, trademarked a genre of cooking called “Semi-Homemade,” which involves 30 percent fresh and 70 percent prepared ingredients, like Velveeta. I don’t use a lot of Velveeta. I never did. I think it was in maybe two recipes. I do like Cool Whip, though.

Doesn’t Cool Whip taste like plastic? Not if you cut it with a little bit of vanilla extract.

What do you think of people who criticize you for using processed food in your recipes? I think they’re snobs. I’m not sure that some of the food purists are in touch with what really goes on in American households.

Let’s talk about your Kwanzaa cake. It features a frosted angel food cake, with a can of apple-pie filling dumped in the middle, and it’s garnished with corn nuts and pumpkin seeds. Which are for the season, right? Kwanzaa is about harvest. I celebrate every holiday.

Anthony Bourdain called the cake a “crime against humanity.” Are you sensitive to cracks like that? It’s shtick. That’s how some people get their press. There are 17 million children in this country going hungry every day, and we’re worried about my Kwanzaa cake from 10 years ago? That’s what I think is ridiculous. Yes, I can laugh about it.

You had a difficult childhood. You were raised by an abusive, drug-addicted mother, and by 12, you were responsible for raising your four siblings on welfare and food stamps. Is your mother still alive? I don’t know. I haven’t really had anything to do with her since I was 15. This isn’t something I ever really want to talk about.

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Credit
Christian Oth for The New York Times

When you first saw your boyfriend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, you described him as a “huge, musclebound man.” There’s a chance of a Cuomo versus Chris Christie presidential election in 2016. Do you think physical fitness has any bearing on performance? I think you have to have an enormous amount of emotional and physical stamina to be in public service. It’s a grueling job.

So are you saying that Chris Christie is too fat to be president? No, I absolutely never said that. I have no comment.

Chester Arthur was the last president to serve his entire term as a single man. People without spouses don’t get elected president anymore. When are you two getting married? That’s a loaded question. Andrew is focused on being governor. He’s not running for president. We’re happy in the relationship the way it is. Still, I can tell you that Andrew’s kids want us to get married. It’s very sweet.

Cuomo is famously hot-tempered. People who like you have described your “bulldog determination” and “blind ambition.” I picture a lot of crockery flying around at home. We never fight. He’s so patient and mellow. He doesn’t give me grief. Can I ask a question? Is this an interview about me or Andrew?

You. You really don’t get grief at home? I get quite a bit, but I don’t mind so much. Well, how old are you?

You’re 45. You look fantastic for your age. Evidently I look like hell. You’re so full of it. Don’t work me. But I look great, don’t I? Please, God, tell me I do.

Correction: April 8, 2012

An interview on March 25 with Sandra Lee, the cookbook author and girlfriend of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, referred imprecisely to the presidency of Chester A. Arthur, in relation to a potential run by Cuomo for the office. While Arthur was single for the entirety of his term, he did not serve a full one; he became president after James Garfield died in office, serving from September 1881 until March 1885.

INTERVIEW HAS BEEN CONDENSED AND EDITED.

A version of this interview appears in print on March 25, 2012, on page MM12 of the Sunday Magazine with the headline: You Can't Ruffle Sandra Lee. Today's Paper|Subscribe